Foreigners advised: Renew work permits early

CEBU, Philippines —  Foreign nationals working here should renew their Alien Employment Permit (AEP) ahead of the deadline.

Salome Siaton, regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment, said in a statement that the guidelines of Department Order No. 186, Series of 2017, require that an application for renewal of AEP should be filed not earlier than 60 days before its expiration.

“In the event that the foreign national needs to leave the country or is into other similar circumstances that will hinder the filing of renewal with the 60-day prescribed period, the application may be filed earlier,” Siaton said.

The AEP is a document issued by the DOLE as one of the requirements for a foreign national to work in the country.

Siaton added that in case the appointment or election of foreign national as officer takes place before the expiration of AEP, the application must be filed not later than 15 working days after appointment, or before its expiration, whichever comes later.

Siaton said that in case the appointment or election takes place after expiration of the AEP, the application for renewal must be filed before the expiration of the AEP, which can be renewed for one year.

“We are appealing to our clients to observe the prescribed period in filing their applications, while the DOLE is also doing its share to deliver said service, within the prescribed process cycle time,” she said.

Applications for issuance of new AEP shall be processed and issued within three working days after publication or within seven calendar days after publication and payment of required fees and fines, if there are any.

Renewal of work permits shall be processed within one day after payment of fees and fines, if there are any.

Siaton also reminded that applicants --foreign nationals and their employers-- that only applications with complete documents and those with fully paid fees plus fines, if there are any, will be received for processing.

For nationalized businesses or industries covered by the anti-dummy law, Siaton said that that they should comply first and submit the Authority to Employ foreign national from the Department of Justice or from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in case of mining.

She further said that if the position title and job description of the applicant is included in the list of regulated professions, Special Temporary Permit from the Professional Regulation Commission should be submitted to DOLE upon application.

She encouraged everyone to take advantage of the series of advocacy activities that the DOLE will soon launch in order to heighten public awareness on the rules and regulations regarding the issuance of alien employment permits.

So far, DOLE-7 received 463 new AEP applications and around 136 applications for AEP renewal. — BRP (FREEMAN)